The Top 15 Nicknames of Professional Golf!

PGA Tour

Jan 3

Written By

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Golf Blog by Mel Sole Golf School.

Don't you love nicknames! While in High School, my nickname was "Shoe" because my last name was Sole. Later, after I turned professional and played on the South African Sunshine Tour, it changed to Soley! I think most nicknames are terms of affection or maybe descriptive, like Boom Boom because Freddy Couples hits it so far. Some can certainly be nasty, like "Volcano," which describes Steve Pate's volatile temper. Not a name to be proud of.

Thanks to Jason Devaney of Back9Network for this interesting article.

Here’s a look at some of the best golfer nicknames in history:

Smallrus
Kevin Stadler is the exact opposite of “small,” yet the 5-foot-10, 250-pounder has acquired the lovely moniker “Smallrus” because he’s a smaller — well, at least younger — version of his golf-playing father, Craig, who is affectionately known as the “Walrus”

Aquaman
When Woody Austin hilariously fell face first into a greenside pond at the 2007 President’s Cup, this nickname was born. The water was shallow and nobody was hurt, so it’s OK to laugh. In fact, two days later Austin poked fun at himself by wearing a diving mask on the course.

Big Easy/Big Weisy
We know that Ernie Els, with his tall stature (6-foot-3), easy-going nature and fluid swing is the “Big Easy.” But do you know Michelle Wie’s monikeris “Big Wiesy?” She’s also tall (6-0) and has an equally nice golf swing. In fact, this side-by-side video shows how similar their swings are. Kind of amazing.

Boom Boom
As calm as Fred Couples appears to be on the golf course, he’s really not. In fact, he’s more even-keeled off the course. A similar metaphor can be said for his swing: It looks easy and slow, but it’s actually one of the fastest swings on tour. Combined with his perfect mechanics, Couples is also one of the biggest hitters out there. Hence, “Boom Boom.”

Bulldog
How could we forget Corey Pavin’s performance at the 1995 U.S. Open (especially his famous 4-wood)? The 5-foot-9, 155-pound Pavin finished the tournament at even par to beat Greg Norman by two shots for his first and only major victory. Pavin was routinely one of the shortest drivers on the PGA Tour; he averaged 254.9 yards in 1995, 159th in the rankings. But there was plenty of fight and determination in this little “bulldog.”

Duf Daddy
With Dufnering and his PGA Championship win, Jason Dufner reached new levels of fame in 2013. Thus, we learned of Keegan Bradley’s moniker for his pal: Duf Daddy. Or some people like to just call him “The Duf.”

Duffy
With a nickname so close to “Duffer,” we had to include this one. It’s doubtful that many people even know that “Duffy” Waldorf 's name is actually James Joseph Waldorf, Jr. We had no idea. We still know him as “Duffy,” the guy who wears loud golf shirts and equally loud golf hats. When you look at old photos of Waldorf, doesn’t he just look like a “Duffy”? Find someone that doesn’t know him or his nickname and see if the person can guess it.